Ballston Town Board votes in favor of purchasing 100 acres for new nature park

BALLSTON -- The dream of one late town resident is one step closer to coming true after the Town Board narrowly voted last week to accept a committee's proposal for a new nature park.

In a 3-2 vote, the Town Board accepted the Park and Recreation Committee's recommendation to purchase 100 acres on Middleline Road and convert the property into a passive recreation park, one that is generally undeveloped and preserves the land's natural quality.

The plot would be named Anchor Diamond Park at the request of the late Frank Schidzick, the long-time town resident who bequeathed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the town to establish the park. The name pays homage to Schidzick's former business, Ballston Supervisor Patti Southworth said.

But Southworth, while not objecting to a new park, is one of two Town Board members who believe the town is about to spend too much of Schidzick's estate to purchase the land, leaving little for park maintenance.

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She pointed out that the money has been tied up in probate court for about a decade. Though the estate has been closed, the town still doesn't know exactly how much it will receive because some of it is in stocks.

"When you have a kid," Southworth said, "you don't just let them run loose in the candy store and let them grab whatever they want without having the change in their pocket to see what they can afford. I think that's what we did."

The town counsel's best guess is the bequest is worth around $900,000. It will cost around $600,000 to purchase the 100 acres, a combination of woods and pasture, from the current landowner.

The Parks and Recreation Committee estimates it'll cost another $100,000 to install an entrance, a lighted parking lot, park benches, trails and a picnic area at the site.

"Basically," Southworth said, "they're looking at spending more than two-thirds of the estate to get a park."

Southworth and Councilman Jeremy Knight would rather see the town purchase and improve a 49-acre plot for an estimated cost of $441,000.

The Town Board voted one year ago to recommend that the estate purchase the 49 acres for the town, but that never happened. The Town Board can purchase the property on its own now that the estate has been closed, but it has also doubled the size of the park. That's where the split occurs.

The town is planning to use the balance of the estate to maintain the park, which is expected to cost around $20,000 annually. It's unclear where funding will come from once the estate has been drained.

Councilman Tim Szczepaniak said a not-for-profit organization could be formed to accept donations for the park, or the town could apply some of the $1,000 recreation fee it collects when issuing building occupancy permits.

But Southworth said the recreation fee is supposed to be applied toward all of the town's recreation initiatives, not just the park. A proposed bicycle path extension could cost $250,000 alone. The supervisor also said it's unclear whether people would donate to the park.

Councilman Bill Goslin said the decision "really came down" to a "once in a lifetime opportunity to add land to the park."

Szczepaniak said the park's location is ideal because it's in a part of town that isn't currently served by Jenkins Park, but Southworth said the town could have saved some money to establish a third park elsewhere.

There are also concerns about whether the park would be built up to include things like recreational fields, which Southworth doesn't believe was Schidzick's intention.

Goslin said he thinks the opportunity for sports fields exists, but that there are "no concrete plans for anything but a passive recreational park."

Once the town receives the estate in full, Southworth said the next steps will be to finalize a purchase agreement for the property, survey the land and move forward with the purchase.